Happy Birthday, Caroline
by Vampire Queen of NOLA
Summary: Caroline has had the worst birthday ever this year, and she doesn't think anything can change that- but Klaus aims to prove her wrong. My own idea of what should happen in episode 100 of TVD.


_Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena. UGH!_

Caroline was fighting to not be that girl anymore. To not resent Elena for having the whole of Mystic Falls revolving around her. But after today, it was hard- harder than anyone had noticed. She was being unfair, and she knew it, but as she drove home that night, she couldn't help but seethe over the fact that she'd spent her whole birthday trying to help Elena calm down after they'd saved her, Damon, and their slightly creepy cellmate with an accent from the damned Augustine project crap. _Oh, woe is me, I'm Elena Gilbert, I stick my damn nose where it doesn't belong and expect Stefan to save the day every damn time._ Because when Caroline had been the one to find them, Elena hadn't thanked her at first- no, her first question was where Stefan was, because she was certain _Stefan_ was coming to save her.

_Ha. He has his own issues._ And honestly, so did Caroline, but this was her thing. Shoving her own problems away to help the people she cared about. And maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, _maybe_, but today had been her birthday. Today, she had hoped that someone, _anyone_ would notice that she was spending a day she should have been having fun fighting to cure Elena of the emotional distress she was under. And why was she so distressed? Because fucking Damon had killed someone while dating her- multiple someones, probably. _I told you so_ had dangled on the tip of her tongue so many fucking times today.

"I'm being stupid," she mumbled, sitting in her car outside of her house. Well, her mom's house. Helping Stefan had made her realize that she was homesick, so she'd been staying here recently, half considering dropping college entirely. Maybe it was bitterness, maybe it was the fact that she was growing more and more tired of Elena's stubborn refusal to take anything she said seriously, maybe she couldn't stand that she felt trapped in an endless cycle of fixing everyone else's problems and never really handling her own. She didn't have the time, the energy to deal with what was happening in her life. Because, you know, it was so fucking simple to deal with ending things with your first love forever- literally, because hello, immortality- and the fact that one of your supposed 'best friends' had killed your crush in a moment of extreme stupidity. That said 'best friend' was becoming someone you didn't even recognize anymore. Yeah, that was real fucking easy to handle.

The blonde vampire sighed, finally getting out and locking her car before making her way to the front door- and stopping dead in her tracks. There was someone leaned against the door, a small smirk creeping over his lips as she stared at him in shock. "Klaus? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"It's your birthday, love. Where else would I be?" It was as though someone invisible was easing the tension from her neck and shoulders with a light brush of their hand, and the ache that had settled in her mind actually seemed a bit subdued at his words. She offered the hybrid a tired smile, getting as far as the steps before she sat on them and sighed.

"I thought you might forget."

"Forget your birthday? Do you really think so low of me?" His words were accompanied by a chuckle as he came to join her, settling in next to her. A laugh escaped, but it was half-tired, half-forced; it was enough to make his smirk fade, and he reached a cautious hand to touch her wrist, drawing her attention. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Oh, that was a question that had a longer answer than he expected. What could she really say without sounding like a selfish twat? _On the one day of the year I'm supposed to be happy and focus on myself, I had to deal with Elena throwing a pity party? Nobody even remembered what today was?_

"You're the only one who remembered," she finally admitted, and her eyes dropped to the ground. Even her mom hadn't said anything, but that was kind of normal- sometimes she got so caught up in her work she ended up being a day late on saying it. "It's selfish, I know, but…"

_"But,_ it's your day. Caroline. You're allowed to be a bit selfish on your birthday. You never are any other time." Without invitation, his hand moved from her wrist and his arm looped around Caroline's shoulders, pulling her close as though to divulge a secret. Klaus even whispered the next words. "I've been here all day. I know how you spent your birthday, and you deserve better than that. So, I had an idea…." She turned, brow furrowed in confusion as he smiled at her.

"Wait, you spent the day watching me?"

"Waiting for the opportunity to offer you your gift, love, nothing more."

"That's still kind of-"

"Creepy, yes, yes, call it what you will. But what sort of friend would I be if I missed my chance to make your day a bit better, hm?" His free hand delved into the inside of his jacket, producing two tickets that he pressed into her hands. Shocked, she pulled one out to study it from sheer curiosity, and her jaw dropped.

"Two first-class round-trip tickets to New York City?"

"I seem to recall that you told me you were going to college for drama. It's a short trip, just twenty-four hours away from Mystic Falls and everything here." Caroline was about to protest, he could tell, but Klaus held up a hand. "It's no New Orleans. But there is still art, music, and culture all around, and I think you would quite enjoy Broadway. Let me give you one day of peace, love. One day without any stress, any worries- a day all about you, just as your birthday should have been. This city is home to performance arts of all sorts."

"I…" What could she say? She and Klaus were calling one another friends now, but if she agreed to a whole day with just him, she'd end up having to face the things she'd felt the night of her graduation. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that. The blonde stared at the tickets, her tongue a heavy weight in her mouth that seemed to refuse to move no matter how much she tried. "Klaus, I don't…"

"If you say no, I'll understand, of course. But for right now, New Orleans is in good hands, and I have a chance to give you a little bit of insight in what the world can offer you." Closing her eyes, Caroline took in a deep breath, trying to calm the erratic beating of her heart. When she reopened them what seemed like an eternity later, she looked back up at him and offered a shy smile.

"Alright. When do we leave?"


End file.
